Waiakea Water: Hawaii’s Purest Addition

In September 2017, Waikea, Inc announced that it would launch the world’s first completely degradable and recyclable plastic bottle. This was a major step towards total sustainability for the beverage brand. Waiakea is a Timeplast founding partner. Timeplast right now is the only patented additive for plastic nano-degradation in the world. By introducing this additive, Waiakea’s bottles will degrade faster by 97% compared to the traditional plastic bottles; from a lifespan of roughly 1500 years to one of 15 years. In addition to this, the bottles will be fully recyclable realizing the dream of sustainable waste management.

In terms of quality and function, Waiakea’s TimePlast bottles are on the same level as the untreated bottles yet they reduce the plastic’s carbon footprint by 65%.It took them 5 years and over 1200 experiments to get the product that they wanted. Founder and CEO Ryan Emmons could not be more thrilled to introduce such a socially conscious brand that can make a positive impact on the world thanks to technology. It is his hope that this initiative will inspire more brands to adopt the revolutionary technology.

Emmons cofounded the company back in 2012 at the age of 22. It has grown over 4000% since then and was named one of the 500 fastest growing companies in America by Inc. Ryan saw an opportunity to create a product that was environmentally friendly and impactful. It wasn’t easy breaking into the premium water scene especially because everyone in the industry was over 50 years old.

Waiakea has a 170% growth rate annually. The company grew from selling 2,304 cases to 122,400 over the short period of three and a half years. Accounts and local distributors signed on quickly which made the climb steady. This was then followed by national-scale players who catapulted the company’s success.

The company currently has a $10 million valuation. The source of the water, Hawaiian volcanic water, is one of the purest environments on Earth. Once the water has passed through 14,000 feet of volcanic rock, it is deeply enriched with minerals such as calcium, potassium and magnesium which are great for your bones, nails, skin and hair.